Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Stock Position in Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,646 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.16% of Universal Insurance worth $1,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Universal Insurance by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,674,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,496,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,510,000 after buying an additional 6,250 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Insurance by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 366,877 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,726,000 after buying an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 357,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,521,000 after buying an additional 33,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Universal Insurance by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 325,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,864,000 after acquiring an additional 11,623 shares during the period. 66.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal Insurance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday.

Universal Insurance Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of UVE opened at $23.04 on Friday. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a twelve month low of $16.50 and a twelve month high of $28.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $652.44 million, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.49.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $596.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.98 million. Universal Insurance had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 4.24%. On average, research analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Universal Insurance’s payout ratio is currently 27.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jon Springer sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $811,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 301,835 shares in the company, valued at $8,167,655.10. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Sean P. Downes sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total transaction of $672,750.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 926,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,936,608.97. This trade represents a 2.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 101,393 shares of company stock worth $2,687,275 over the last quarter. Insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Insurance

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated insurance holding company in the United States. It develops, markets, and underwrites insurance products for personal residential insurance, such as homeowners, renters/tenants, condo unit owners, and dwelling/fire; and offers allied lines, coverage for other structures, and personal property, liability, and personal articles coverages.